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In the early 1960s William Wolff found his artistic direction, creating woodcut prints, that he continued making the rest of his life. Wolff had his first solo show of paintings in 1955 in San Francisco at the Lucien Labaudt Gallery that introduced many artists of the Bay Area Figurative movement. Previously at the Campbell Gallery and ArtZone 461, Wolff’s paintings from the 1950s and 1960s have been shown. ArtZone is pleased to present its first exhibition of William Wolff prints (mainly woodcuts), several of which are in the permanent collections of many prominent museums throughout the United States.
Wolff spent his whole life making art. Initially he studied at the California School of Fine Arts (later San Francisco Art Institute) in the early 1940s. After serving in the Army in World War II he returned to his fine art studies. He received a BFA and then an MFA in 1951 from the University of California-Berkeley. In the summer of 1950, at Mills College, he studied with German painter Max Beckman whose powerful personality left an indelible stamp on Wolff.
Using the modernist flattening and compression developed in his earlier paintings, Wolff’s prints explore philosophical, religious, political and literary themes derived from his extensive reading in several languages. Wolff approached printmaking like painting, by re-working blocks he produced more unique works than multiples, and is why he signed most of them “Artist Proof”.
Inspired by Wolff’s passion for prints, the Side Gallery features the first of a two part exhibition: Six Centuries of Printmaking. Part I focuses on works from the 1500s to 1700s, providing a historical context. European prints ranging from XVI Century German woodblocks depicting the Wanderings of Aeneas, to XVIII Century etchings depicting King George II in Meetings, and everything in between. Part II, Prints from the 1800s to Present, will be presented in the Main Gallery space in December following William Wolff exhibition.
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